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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are hands down my favorite breakfast food. My mom used to only make them for special occasions, like Christmas, and I would anticipate them for weeks. I love these cinnamon rolls plain, warm, with icing, a few days old, any which way. The basic sweet dough that makes these delicious lovelies also makes a fantastic clover dinner roll.

Cinnamon Rolls

2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 teaspoons instant yeast)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk, scalded and then cooled

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup margarine

4 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour

sugar and cinnamon to add to the inside of the dough

Microwave the butter and milk. Add water and eggs to the mixture and stir. Feel the bowl, if it is only lukewarm, add the yeast. Mix in the rest of ingredients in, taking care to use the flour sparingly. Knead for a few minutes and allow to rise until doubled.

Once the first proof is over, turn dough out onto a lightly flofured surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Melt some butter/margarine. Brush melted butter onto the dough. Sprinkle the buttered dough generously with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. I use a mixture that is a little heavier on the sugar than cinnamon, but my husband prefers it opposite. Roll the dough up and slice into rolls of desired thickness. Honestly, these rolls are best a bit on the thin side. I have tried making them fat, but the ratio of dough to filling was not as tasty. Place the rolls on a pan. Above I used a round cake pan, which makes the rolls nice an soft. My mother always used a cookie sheet, which is very good, but makes for crustier outsides.

Allow rolls to rise for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the rolls for 25 minutes or so.

Ice as desired. My mother's icing was just a simple combination of powdered sugar, milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Use as much milk as you would like to make the icing as thin as you like.